3 Simple Ways to Address Your Financial Worries

How have you been addressing your financial worries in the past years? What is your strategy for this year? How are you going to worry less and focus on what you should do more?

We know, see and feel the impact of unmanaged finances. We worry. We get stressed. We get disturbed. Our work is affected. Our health is affected. Our relationships are affected.

While money is not the most important thing in life, it affects the important things in life. It is then essential that we manage our finances well.

I, too, sometimes worry on how I will pay my bill or how I will be able to afford a necessary expenditure or a dream. But worrying worsens the problem. Working with the right strategies will solve the problem. The key is to go back to the fundamentals and see how you can use them to address your financial worries.

Let me share with you three simple ways:

1. Raise Your Income

If you need more money, then you need more income. So raise your income. You can do this in two ways –

Increase Your Performance

Give your best at work. Come to work on time. Take initiative. Solve problems. Don’t wait for higher positions before you do more. Do more and higher positions will come.

In other words, go for high performance. With high performance comes enhanced competencies and developed character. And here’s the bonus: it comes with increased income as well. Did you hear that? Income comes in!

With high performance comes chances to receive huge bonuses and promotions. When I was working as an employee, I receive a performance bonus – three times my monthly salary. And there’s more: I also was promoted and my salary was increased. That increase in income, and thus, increasing my funds, helped me achieve my goals for the year.

Some people complain, “But my employer does not recognize my performance and does not give me bonus or raise. I’d rather not perform.”

No! Stick to being your best self. If you will not be rewarded in your present company, you will be rewarded by others, in another way. My mentor says, “The universe will find a way to reward you.” As it is written, “What you sow, you shall reap.” It’s true.

Increase Your Income Stream

You and I need multiple income streams as they will serve as addition to the existing income source that we have. They will also serve as a backup in case something happens.

A financial expert said that millionaires, at an average, have seven income streams. Why are they doing it? Because they see the importance of having multiple income streams. It’s the reason why they are where they are.

If you are an employee, why not start something on the side. Yes, give your best while you are at work. When you go home or during your day off, maybe you can do something else. Start a side business. Sell something of value. Offer your services to others. Do an online work.

Caution: Don’t do it during office hours. Otherwise, you are violating our first strategy above.

If you cannot start adding income stream yet, start learning how. That’s how you begin! And you reading/watching this is a good sign that you are investing (time and money) for yourself. Keep on!

2. Reduce Your Expenses

Pouring liters of water into a jar that is leaking will never fill it. In the same way, increasing your income will be useless if you keep increasing your expenses as well. Much worse, if the increase in your expenses is even higher than the increase in your income.

To reduce your expenses, here are my suggestions:

Strike Down Your Luxuries and Vices

Let me show you a table that will shock you:

Expense Item

Amount

Approximately in a Year

After 15 years if invested @10%

After 15 years, if the same is annually done in 15 years

High End Coffee

150.00

21,600.00

*

90,228.56

754,914.17

High Sugar Donut

40.00

5,760.00

*

24,060.95

201,310.44

Beer

50.00

7,200.00

*

30,076.19

251,638.06

High Sugar Drink

12.00

2,880.00

*

12,030.47

100,655.22

Cigarette

3.00

2,016.00

**

8,421.33

70,458.66

High End Phone

35,990.00

35,990.00

***

150,339.16

241,694.80

Total

36,245.00

75,446.00

315,156.67

1,620,671.35

*Assuming consumption of three in a week.

*Assuming consumption of 2 sticks a day.

***Assuming purchase is every 3 years.

You realize how you are wasting millions in every extra peso you spend on extra. Strike your luxuries and vices now and start growing your money to millions for your future.

Stop Your Loans

The Bible says, “The borrower is a slave to the lender.” You don’t want to become a slave, do you? Stop borrowing! Or you will be eaten alive by your loan interests.

If you are lured to borrow P50,000 and pay P667 daily in 3 months or 90 days, that is a huge 20% interest just for 3 months.

And what did you use it for? You just borrowed it to buy a high end laptop that you don’t really need. Once it’s out of the store, its value begins to depreciate. You are not making money from it but you are still paying money for buying it.

Or maybe you were told you can use it to finance a micro-business; but if you look at it, you are making daily sales of P2,000 with net income of P400 only. In effect, you are losing big time! How will you pay that P667? You are even at negative P267 on a daily basis. How about your meals, transportation, and other expenses?

Easy payments – they say on credit cards. So you purchased that brand new top of the line phone at P35,990. You paid using your credit card as they said, easy payments. And you forgot that your credit card is not your cash. You borrowed money from the credit card company that you have to pay at an average of 3% interest per month. If you only pay the minimum per month, you will be drowning in interest payments on top of the principal (original amount) you borrowed.

There is never an easy payment – even with credit cards. It’s just easier to swipe without feeling the money coming out.

So, stop borrowing. Even if there is what we call a good debt and a bad debt, my wise financial mentor would advise you not to borrow even for business. Of course, much worse if it is a consumer debt.

3. Revitalize Your Position

Start to Save

Start saving a portion of your income. You will be able to do this because you will increase your income and will reduce your expenses.

Before you even withdraw your salary, set aside your saving already. Say, 20% of which. For instance, if your net pay is P20,000, set aside P4,000 already.

Save up for emergency fund which is an amount equal to 3-6 months of your expenses. You may put this in another savings account.

Get Protection

Insurance is something that most people need but they don’t get it because they do not understand it. Or sadly, some pushy sales people irritated them trying to make a sale rather than educate them so they will make the decision themselves of what and how much they really need.

Since this is a huge topic, I reserve a special session for this. For now, let me tell you the purposes of insurance:

– It can serve as an interim source of fund for the family while they are recovering from a huge expenditure and/or loss of someone.

– It is an added future fund (for health, education or retirement).

Insurance is something you need in case something bad happens. But with the new plans now, if even nothing bad happens (which is what we prefer and pray for), you can still use it. That’s why, it is an added future fund like an investment. (If you want to know more about insurance, watch for our special session on this topic. You may also email info@chrisdaoanis.com for inquiries.)

Let me be clear: You don’t have to get another insurance if you already have a sufficient insurance coverage. You also don’t need to get insurance if you already are rich enough that you don’t need it; If anything happens, existing funds and sources can fund what’s needed. But still, I learned that the rich still gets insurance not because they need it but because they want to leverage it and use it to their advantage. How about that? Find out why they do so.

Ride Investment Vehicles

My mentor says, “There are vehicles available but many people are only walking to their wealth.” As a result, the wealth becomes an elusive dream.

So start riding these vehicles by investing in the following:

Real Estate. You can buy land or property and you can earn through its rise in value or from rentals.

Business. You can put your money in an earning business. You will earn from its profits.

Stocks. In this, you are buying a business in effect (also businesses that are in real estate, depending on your choice). You buy shares of ownership of big companies. As the business grows, your money also grows (called capital appreciation). You can also earn through dividends when they distribute portion of their earnings to the stockholders (and you are a stockholder so you receive your share).

Mutual Funds. Instead of you buying shares of stocks directly, you buy shares in funds. Fund managers will then invest the pooled funds (from you and other investors) in good stocks of their choice. They will manage it. As the fund value grows, your money also grows.

To most people, it’s way much easier to start investing in stocks and mutual funds. You may want to look into these two as well. Typically, you need bigger amounts of money to invest in real estate and business. (More learning sessions on this to come. If you are excited to start and be guided by my mentor, check out www.chrisdaoanis.trulyrichclub.com.)

We will go deeper into these different investment vehicles in the future learning sessions that we will have.

At least, by now, you have an idea of where you can possibly invest your money and make your money grow so your money is working for you.

You have worked hard to earn that money. Don’t just let it slip away.

Let’s recap what we learned:

We can address our financial worries by following these three simple strategies:

Raise your income by raising your performance and by adding income streams.

Reduce your expenses by striking down your luxuries and vices and not making more loans.

Revitalize your position by starting to save, getting insurance and riding investment vehicles.

Now, go and live with less financial worries.

Become a better you,

Chris Dao-anis

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Published by Chris Dao-anis

Chris Dao-anis, CPA, DTM is an inspirational speaker, leadership trainer, recollection master, book coach, and public speaking coach. He authored five books to date, including SPEAK: How to Craft and Deliver a Speech or Presentation with Competence and Confidence. He has been of service to different audiences across the Philippines. He aims to help you convey your message, sell your story, and lead people.
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